1. Author: Beatriz Cebas
Tutor: Steve Cross
Assignment
Title:
Representation,
Critique
&
Circulation.
New
media
technologies
and
the
city
spaces.
Course
and
Year:
MA
Media,
Communication
&
Critical
Practice,
2011
(London
College
of
Communication,
University
of
the
Arts)
Author:
Beatriz
Cebas
Due date: Thursday 19th April 2011
This
work
is
licensed
under
the
Creative
Commons
Attribution-­NonCommercial-­ShareAlike
3.0
Unported
License.
To
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license,
visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-­nc-­
sa/3.0/
or
send
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94041,
USA

2. Introduction
In the following essay I will explore how media technologies are transforming our
experience of city spaces focusing in two different aspects. First of them will be the
new ways of consumption based on the propagation of smartphones. The second is
the power of the social network Twitter in citizen movements providing the example
of the current Spanish Revolution.
Life on the city is usually based on the anonymity, the poor interaction between
citizens and consumption. City spaces where crowds usually congregate like public
transport promote this lack of interaction. However, the proliferation of new media -
especially smartphones- has created a new way of human contact. Nowadays, even
people do regular things like taking the bus or buying on the corner shop without
looking into others eyes, they are more communicated that even.
Citizens could be completely disconnected about the woman’s life sited next to them
on the tube but they know just by clicking on their smartphones what is globally
going on. They can read from the local or international news to the latest gossips
about last night out with their friends. It also means that this kind of interaction makes
them lose their anonymity while they mix real and virtual life.
In addition, the improved of Internet applications on mobiles has increased this way
of interaction promoting the use of social networks as well as new ways of
consumption. The shopping experience is transforming and modern marketing has
realized of this change on consumers. For this reason, companies are investing on
develop of smartphone applications and ads in order to be more profitable.
On the other hand, the social network Twitter has showed its power on citizens’ social
movements. The Islamic revolutions on 2011 (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia etc.) are the
clearest example of citizen movements against government’s regimes. These events
were baptized as “Twitter Revolutions” proving the importance that social media -
especially the microblogging network Twitter- had on the mobilizations.
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3. On October 2008 a citizen movement was created in Iceland to say no to the payment
of the British and Dutch debt of 4.000 million of euros. They demanded the
imprisonment for those bankers who were responsible of the country bankruptcy.
Then, citizens won that war.
The Icelandic experience is the example currently followed by Spain. This Spanish
movement started last 15th May and it is already taking place. In addition, it grows
every day thanks to the use of social media. This is a citizen movement that have
mobilized thousands of people in Spain and Spaniards living abroad in order to
demand a real democracy and change the current political system. Even it is a generic
and unspecific request, they have gained the support of thousands of angry citizens at
the political class and the high unemployment rates in the country.
All of these points show that new media technologies could be used as a powerful tool
of democratization as well as a global way of communication and the promoter of
modern consumption.
New ways of consumption
“The metropolis has always been the seat of the money
economy” (Simmel, 1903)
Consumption is an important lifestyle element on the city, is central to the urban
experience and is part of the city’s identity. We could link this “identity” with
consumers’ behaviour so according to this idea the metropolis as we have always
known it is changing very quickly. Quoting Plafrey and Gasser: “The digital era has
transformed how people live their lives and relate to one another and to the world
around them” (2008:3). This “world” includes the idea of consumption, the key of
capitalist societies like European ones.
The e-commerce concept and the proliferation of companies’ investment on
applications for smartphones in order to improve their profits are part of the new
shopping experience on the city, based on the use of the Internet. Nowadays, many
people buy online and receive these services online too like the flight and music
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4. concerts tickets. Another possibility is receiving the products they buy online using
websites based on e-commerce like Amazon or any retail company to their own
house. In a society where citizens are so busy working long hours, the chance of
covering basic needs like buying food online seems to be a solution for the busy
daily lifestyle of the city. Hence, the traditional shopping experience where
consumers had to physically go to a store to obtain the whished product or service is
transforming into a more flexible experience based on the Internet.
Comfort is usually related with consumption. The more you consume the happier you
are. However, as George Simmel pointed in the beginning of the 20th century: “For
here as elsewhere it is by no means necessary that the freedom of man be reflected in
his emotional life as comfort”. More than a release, consumption could be turned into
oppression for citizens. They are forced to consume in order to follow the rules of the
society game and contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.
“Computers are more than a simple addition. Through virtual reality they enable us to
spend more of our time in our dreams” (Turkle, 1995:266). If we understand this
“dream” as the possession of commodities it is easy to understand why companies are
actually investing so much on this “virtual reality”. It is a way to keep consumers
dreaming while they get addicted to their products.
During the last few years, smartphone users have significantly increased. It means
that an important percentage of citizens are changing their way of communication as
well as their way of consumption. Following this tendency and taking advantage of
the situation, part of the modern marketing is based on strategist for this new media.
Google has recently launched a video where they showed some relevant figures about
the use of smartphones on daily lives’ consumers and the importance of mobile ads.
The film, called Video The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone
Consumers, is based on a market research studio conducted at the end of 2010 by
Ipsos OTX where 5,013 US adult smarphone users were interviewed. The figures
show that: “79% of people use smartphones to help them with their shoppings. 70%
use smartphones when they are still on the store. 74% make a purchase based on a
smartphones search”. These statistics reveal the importance of this technological
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5. device as a tool of consumption. Internet users opinions are crucial for many people
who want to buy a new product. If it has good reviews online it is more likely to be
bought that any other product without any review or bad ones. It happens the same
when we talk about restaurants, exhibitions or films.
Even the importance of new media technologies is growing really fast, “old” media
like TV have still the main power. According to the Google studio, “finding local
information is one of the most popular smartphone activities: 95% look for local
information. 88% take action within the same day. 71% of the sales are made because
we saw an ad. 43% search after seeing a TV ad. 17% search after seeing a display ad
on a mobile device”.
“A rapidly expanding system of networks, collectively known
as the Internet, links millions of people in new spaces that are
changing the way we think, the nature of our sexuality, the
form of our communities, our very identities”. (Turkle, 1995:9)
City spaces like squares and public transport are perfect for marketing campaigns.
Publicity agencies are currently using public spaces trying to involve citizens who
cross by that space. These actions go from codes included on bus shelter ads to
flashmobs. Both examples include the interaction of a smartphone.
The codes added on traditional ads on public transport or any other public spaces of
the city are designed to be scanned by a smartphone so they need the interaction of
the people. Once it is done they received to their mobiles a trailer, short film, picture
or whatever the company is promoting. The idea of this kind of interaction is if the
user likes what he/she is watching he/she would be likely to share it online
contributing to the company purposes.
The second example provided is flahsmobs. They are performances of a group of
people that suddenly meet in a public space for a brief time. Most of them have a
commercial purpose. If it is a stunning flashmob each smartphone user who crossed
by will take a picture or film a video to show it to their friends. The quickest way of
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6. sharing it is online using the social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube
obtained a powerful viral effect.
The Spanish Revolution
“The growth of civic participation and the opening of the media
market to new voices leads to increased transparency. It means
that individual citizens have greater autonomy as political
actors”. (Plafrey and Gasser, 2008:269)
Spain is currently living a citizen revolution. It started last Sunday 15th May
(Movement 15M), a week before the regional political elections, when citizens
demonstrate in 60 different cities of the country demanding a change on the political
class. The demonstration was organized by the platform Democracia Real Ya (Real
Democracy Now) who announced the initiative online as well as its messages.
The 15M demonstrations congregated thousands of people. Even figures are unclear,
organizers estimate that 25.000 people demonstrated in Madrid and 15.000 in
Barcelona. When demonstration finished, some people spontaneously talked about
camp on the Puerta del Sol, the main square in Madrid. First night was not really
successful but the following ones thousand of citizens went to different Spanish
squares being the Puerta del Sol the main one. Since Monday it has turned into a
massive campsite located in the heart of the city.
The original platform Democracia Real Ya has dissociated from this new initiative
but they support them. Acampada Sol (Sol campsite) is the new citizen movement in
charge of this spontaneous movement that has surprise the whole society, from the
citizens to press and politicians.
The message of Democracia Real Ya, the organizers of the demonstration on Sunday,
was the germ of the movement. They uploaded a manifest in its website where they
call for a change on the current Spanish political system as well as other topics like a
solution for the high unemployment rate and the commendation of responsible of the
financial crisis.
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7. This is mainly a movement sustained by a young generation of “digital natives” who
have quickly introduced the social media, especially Twitter, as a powerful way of
mobilization. According to Plafrey and Gasser: “New technologies are transforming
certain aspects of politics. The fundamental rules still apply, but the way the game is
played is changing. Digital Natives are, in many cases, leading the way” (2008).
According to Manuel Castells “We were drugged by a society based on consumption
and right now we went cold turkey because we can not consume” (2010:CNN
interview). Once we are not “drugged” and we wake up from the dream, citizens are
taking the streets.
There is no political party behind the movement and the message is spreading fast via
Twitter and Facebook. At this point of the event, the mobilization’s message is still
imprecise. However, corruption on politics and the high unemployment rate are two
of the main topics heard on people congregated on Puerta del Sol in Madrid and any
other Spanish square.
Even they are currently having some legal problems, the campsite is still in Madrid.
Following the announces on its Twitter account @acampadasol, they plan to keep
camping until Sunday 22nd, the election day. This is mainly a young citizen
movement because is especially the Spanish youth who is more disappointed with the
political class. The main reasons is the unemployment rate in the country, the highest
in the EU: 4.9 million of Spaniards are jobless not to mention the youth
unemployment rate that is the 33,9%.
At this movement the mobilization and its numerous messages are globally spreading
thanks to the massive use of Twitter and Facebook. If traditional press mainly
silenced the Iceland revolution, this one is actually being international heard
appearing on the front page of newspaper like the French Le Monde as well as every
national Spanish papers.
Twitter is being a key tool for the growth of the movement and the citizen
mobilization. Since Sunday, people from different cities and countries are twitting
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8. what was going on. Even not everyone was able to attend physically the protest many
of them did it and still do it online. People is sharing information, pictures and videos
that other users twitted including the hashtags (tracking topics) #spanishrevolution,
#acampadasol (solcamping), #nonosvamos (#wedontleave), #yeswecamp on their
twitts.
The movement in Twitter is so big that during the whole Tuesday 17th May the
hashtags #acampadasol and #nonosvamos were the firsts trending topic in Spain and
the third worldwide trending topic during the morning. On Wednesday the hashtag
#nonosvamos were still a trending topic in Spain appearing a new one
#notenemosmiedo (#wearentafraid).
Social media is blurring the boundaries between cities and countries offering a global
way of communication and interaction with the world: the cyberspace. Based on my
own experience I could affirm that new media technologies approaches realities and
provide the chance to virtually participate in movements like this one. I read about
this mobilization on Monday when I was updating my Twitter account. Since this
moment on I am an online activist supporting the movement.
As a blogger I could also prove the relevance of the movement. My blog
(http://blog.masquetrapo.com/) usually have an average of 60 visits a day. On
Wednesday 18th May I wrote a post about the London demonstration organized for
that afternoon. Just in a day, the post had 1.619 visits. It is caused because it was
shared on Twitter using the movement’s hashtags.
But there are more example based on the experience that proves this protest
movement is turning global. Same day, 18th May, around 200 people demonstrate in
front of the Spanish Embassy in London using the same message of dissatisfaction
with the Spanish government and its political class. I went to the demonstration and I
filmed a short video of the event. I uploaded it to Youtube on Thursday morning, 19th
May; just in a couple of hours (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4PqA17gFEI) the
video had 278 views.
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9. The Spanish Revolution is a new movement who is already creating its basis. They
did not expect this big acceptation and participation especially because on April of
this year another platform called Juventud sin futuro (Futureless Youth) tried to do
something similar but they just congregated a few thousands in Madrid. Then, the
initiative did not keep on.
The proximity of the regional elections and a well-organized system based on the use
of social media are the success keys of this citizen movement named as The Spanish
Revolution or Movement 15M. However, as we have pointed this is a new movement
that is already shaping so just the time will let us now if they take long term actions in
order to achieve a real change or if it is just an important citizen movement that lasted
a week.
* Most of the information obtained to write this part of the essay was obtained based
on my experience as a blogger, as a Twitter and Facebook user, on citizen’s twitts
related to the movement, on Facebook pages and the Spanish media.
Conclusion
New media have definitely established as part of our daily life melting the boundaries
between virtual and real life. Its power is so big that thanks to them consumers are
changing the marketing rules and citizens are able to create global movement asking
for real democracy.
The proliferation of smartphones gives us the possibility to be connected 24 hours a
day 7 days a week. This new media technology is building new ways of interaction
between people covering the social need of feeling part of a community. Even the
Internet has created the most communicated and interactive society ever it is mostly in
the virtual life because in the real one. Cities are still places where people do not
usually interact with each other.
Marketing professionals still create its strategist based on “old” media like TV or
traditional press. However, every year companies invest more money on new media
technologies research in other to be more profitable. Publicity companies have also
9

10. realized of the real possibilities of new media introducing new campaigns where
traditional and new publicity is mixed. Consumers are turning the shopping
experience into an online experience of consumption. For this reason the agencies
specialized on social media marketing are growing so fast.
On the other hand, the Spanish Revolution is a huge example of the enormous
possibilities of new media technology. The web 2.0 is changing the way we
communicate creating a more democratic system of information. Even some
traditional media firstly avoided this citizen movement, the amount of information
uploaded on blogs, Facebook and Twitter were very difficult to be ignored.
However, it is already really soon to know if this citizen movement will go further or
not. They possible do not achieve their aims, firstly because they do not have a clear
speech and secondly because some of their ideas are too utopian (one of their main
aims is to obtain a real democracy giving more power to citizens and less to
politicians). Even thought, it is a relevant moment on the current history because it
shows the citizen power of demonstration and mobilization using the web 2.0 as their
main tool.
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11. Bibliography
Acampada Sol (2011) [www] http://twitter.com/acampadasol
Castells, Manuel (2010) CNN+ interview [www]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxcvp956jpo
Cebas, Beatriz (2011) [www] http://blog.masquetrapo.com/ and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4PqA17gFEI
Correa, Bruno (2011) [www]
http://encuentrosdigitales.rtve.es/2011/bruno_correa.html
Democracia Real Ya (2011) [www] http://democraciarealya.es/ and
http://www.facebook.com/democraciarealya
Elola, Joseba; Saleh, Samira (2011) [www]
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/18/actualidad/1305752933_013731.html
Gabilondo, Iñaki (2011) [www] http://blogs.elpais.com/la-voz-de-inaki/
GoogleMobileAds (2011) [www] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUcq_E4I-s
López Manjon, Pedro; Hernanz, Miriam (2011) [www]
http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20110519/acampada-sol-se-consolida-congregar-mas-
manifestantes-pese-veto-junta/433384.shtml
Palfrey, John and Gasser, Urs (2008) Born Digital. Understanding the first generation
of digital natives. New York: Basic Books.
Perez, Cristina (2011) [www] http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20110518/radiografia-
juventud-espanola/433202.shtml
Rodríguez Delia (2011) [www] http://blogs.elpais.com/trending-topics/
11

12. Turkle, Sherry (1995) Life on the screen. Identity in the age of the Internet. New
York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Simmel, George (1903), The Metropolis and Mental Life in Wolff, Kurt (1950) The
Sociology of Georg Simmel, New York: Free Press
Turkle, Sherry (1995) Life on the screen. Identity in the age of the Internet. New
York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
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